It’s about to get easier for doctors across Texas to practice telemedicine, or online appointments that are often more convenient and cheaper for patients.
A bill that’s awaiting Governor Greg Abbott’s signature will allow doctors to examine patients online without having seen them in person first.
“How’s your elbow doing?” asks Dr. Robert Hartzler with The San Antonio Orthopaedic Group. “How are the incisions looking? Do you mind if I just take a quick peak at those?”
No exam room needed – just a laptop and Wi-Fi to see how his patient, Mark McNair, is recovering from elbow surgery while he’s on the road.
“I was on a brand-new contract so it basically saved my job, really,” McNair says over the video conference.
Dr. Hartzler, a shoulder and elbow specialist, says more and more patients are asking for online appointments.
“I have had, even in just the last two weeks, a couple of international patients that have come into our practice that we’ve done surgery on that we’ll be able to use the app for follow up,” Dr. Hartzler says.
Soon, a new state law will make telemedicine more widely available. Doctors will need to be licensed in Texas to practice online, but they will no longer have to see the patient in person first.
The software doctors use must follow patient privacy laws, and medical professionals will be held accountable by state boards that regulate standard of care.
“A lot of people are using the emergency room as their primary care and I think if we can use telemedicine to bridge that gap we can see a lot of savings on the state of Texas,” says Dr. Ray Callas from the Texas Medical Association during a Skype conversation.
While telemedicine doesn’t replace office visits, McNair’s grateful to have his doctor at his fingertips.
“Gives me a lot more confidence that I’m doing the right things to make sure that my elbow gets better,” he says.
Date:May 25, 2017